This application relates to means of alerting motorists to the presence of disabled vehicles or work zone areas. Each year hundreds of motorists are either killed or injured along side the roadway. Many of these accidents may be prevented if the oncoming motorist had advance warning of the presence of these disabled vehicles. In addition the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association requires that all trucks and buses with a gross weight rating (GVWR) of over 10,000 pounds carry triangular warning devices. The present invention incorporations elements disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195.
In recent years, a variety of traffic warning devices have become known and reference may be had to the following U.S. patents for a description of these prior art of traffic warning devices; U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 6,508,195, 4,531,472, 5,263,272, 5,502,909, 5,544,614, 5,775,833, 5,517,395, 5,755,253, 4,535,331.
The present invention is a significant improvement over present triangles in that it requires approximately ⅓ the storage space when compared to existing designs. This is significant in increasing the attractiveness of the triangles to uses with limited storage space. A primary benefactor of such a design would be motorcyclist's who could easily store the compacted device in their side compartment of saddle bag. Currently the standard design is too big to fit into these storage devices. Another advantage would be the contracted design would be able to fit in a car's the glove compartment.
Therefore the presented invention is designed to help eliminate shortfalls with the current devices. It is envisioned that by increasing the attractiveness, more people will carry the devices in their vehicles and a decrease in roadside fatalities and injuries would result.
The Triangular Retractable Safety Marker has been designed to be employ easily, store compactly, withstand prevailing winds and be economical.
The Triangular Retractable Safety Marker is a combination of several pieces. The first two pieces are referenced to as the base supports. The base supports of the present invention are similar is design and function to the base supports disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195. Another piece is referred to as the lower portion. The lower portion contains several strategically placed holes that allow for the base supports and lower risers to be permanently affixed to it. There are two lower risers, two middle risers and two upper risers. The lower riser is a one sided slotted angular element. The middle riser is also slotted and designed to fit inside the slot on the lower riser. The upper riser is a flat piece and is designed to fit into the slot on the middle riser. There are also two pivot pins that allow for the permanent connection between the lower risers and the lower portion.
The two base supports are intended to provide the necessary weight to ensure that the device is not displaced under reasonable wind loads. Each base support also has two strategically placed tabs. The base support is primarily a rectangular type box with the top end and one of the sides open. The long sides of the base support contain a tab at the “open” end of the box. These tabs are designed to allow the base support to be affixed to a slot in the lowest vertical riser.
The Triangular Retractable Safety Marker has been designed for easy placement during emergency situations. The first step in the application process is to rotate the two base supports from the closed to the open position (parallel with the lower portion). Then the lower portions are rotated to a position parallel to the ground. Then the middle and upper risers are extended to a locked position. The two uppers risers are snapped together. At this point the invention is ready for application.